


An Evening Remembrance

by Little_Inkstone



Series: Afternoon Reunion AU [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 01:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3338840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Inkstone/pseuds/Little_Inkstone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A semi-sequel to An Afternoon Reunion.  Gold remembers once Emma comes to town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Evening Remembrance

Mr. Gold had walked through the door of Granny’s Bed and Breakfast, and Rumpelstiltskin came stumbling out.  Quickly he took stock of himself, attempting to align his memories of the old world and the new.

The last thing he recalled was being locked away in the dwarf mines, as he had planned.  Belle and Lucy had stayed at the Dark Castle waiting for his curse to hit.

Triumph and victory washed over him, he had done it!  He had finally made his way to the Land Without Magic.  After so long he was closer now to finding his son than ever before, he and Belle could be a complete family, like that they had dreamed about.  The thought of his love and their daughter had him stopping in his proverbial tracks.

There was something very wrong there; Gold had no wife or child.  He was completely alone.

His head began to throb as he fought to place Belle and his daughter in Storybrooke, dread turning his blood to ice when he couldn’t find them.  If something had happened to them, if  _Regina_  had hurt them, the curse ending would be the least of her problems.  Pushing aside his thoughts of revenge he went thought the list of people Mr. Gold knew.  Most people hated him.

But he  _did_  have one friend, Gold was all alone, except,  _except_ … Isabelle French!  Gold’s only friend was the librarian, Isabelle.

As soon as he focused on her cursed name, images of his sweet Belle in Storybrooke swamped his mind.  Gold had been half smitten from the first time they had properly interacted, but he had been too cowardly to act on his feelings.  The way the curse had kept them apart, and his old insecurities bleeding through.

Not far behind the images of his true love were the cursed memories of his daughter.  Lucinda French in this world.

He began walking towards the library as fast as his ankle would allow. When he had bargained for comfort he had been hoping his leg would be included in the deal, but apparently it wasn’t.  He should have been more specific in what he wanted, like his  _true love_  and  _child_  to actually know who he was to them besides simply a  _friend_.

Although, Lucy knew who he was.  Much to Isabelle’s and Gold’s chagrin, she had insisted on calling him Papa, and nothing could sway her from it.

Now he was glad his star-shine had managed to escape that part of the curse, it would mean she had been able to find a little bit of happiness within the cursed town while they all waited for the saviour.  And she had obviously used her retained knowledge to try to get her parents back together.  Funny, he thought his little girl more subtle then the way she had been going about it.

Well she wouldn’t have to worry about it now.  The first thing he intended on doing now that he had regained his true self was to march up to the shy librarian and ask her out.

Time would soon be moving once more and with it would come numerous changes.  Even if Regina became suspicious that Mr. Gold had finally gotten up the never to ask the woman he had secretly been in love with for years on a date.  She would be too busy watching her carefully constructed world fall apart to suspect that he remembered.

Finally reaching the library he took a calming breath before opening the door.

Knowing where someone was, and actually seeing them there, were two very different things.  The sight of his Belle reading a book at the circulation desk, looking as if she could have been sitting in the library of the Dark Castle, had his heart pounding so hard he was sure she would be able to hear it.  Gold had seen Isabelle yesterday; Rumpelstiltskin hadn’t seen Belle in 28 years.

“Belle…”  He rasped dazedly, holding his cane firmly as his head swam.

All he wanted to do was gather her into his arms, hold her close, and kiss the lips that he had been denied in the Enchanted Forest.  But he couldn’t do that, she didn’t remember what they were to one another, the most Isabelle French felt for him was fond affection.  And that was only because Gold had never managed to play the tyrannical land lord with her.

Any hope he had felt about reclaiming his family shrivelled and died.  What had he been thinking, that it would be as easy to get them back as asking Isabelle out for a nice dinner?  It was common knowledge that she didn’t date, burned as she was by the father of her child.

For a moment Rumpelstiltskin wanted to hunt the man down and skin him alive, until he remembered that it was himself that had left Belle alone with Lucy.  His curse had done this to her.

With guilt eating away at him he turned to retreat.  He’d come back, with a better plan and strategy rather than just clumsily asking her out.

Admittedly he knew he was being cowardly, but without Belle to help him be strong that was all he was.  A coward.

His self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted by someone clearing there throat.  “Mr. Gold, I didn’t see you there.”  Isabelle called putting her book down.  “Can I help you with anything?”

“No, no.”  He turned back around, taking in the sight of her once more.  He had to fight for love, Belle had said that once, now he was going to fight for her, and their daughter.  Taking a fortifying breath he began speaking before he lost his never once more.  “Miss French, I was, ah, I was just wondering if you were free for lunch tomorrow?”  He enquired hopefully.

“Uh…”  She stared at him for a moment rendered totally mute.  “I, um, ah, s-sure.  I mean yes, yes I am free.”  She amended quickly.

“Good, good, I was wondering if you’d… like to grab something to eat.  With me?”  He asked awkwardly.

She looked down for a moment, fiddling with her hands before looking back up at him with shy smile.  “I’d like that.”


End file.
